An Ekiti State High Court, Ado Ekiti division, on Thursday, sentenced a 24-year-old man, Dayo Asiwaju, to life imprisonment for raping a college student with charms.
He was tried and found guilty on two counts bordering on rape and unlawful possession of charms.
Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, in her judgment, said, “The sole issue for determination is resolved in favour of the prosecution. The defendant is accordingly found guilty as charged on both counts. He is sentenced to life imprisonment on count one (rape) and on count two, he is sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.”
According to the charge sheet, Asiwaju committed the offences on March 29, 2019, on Ikoyi Street, Ikere Ekiti, where he used a charm to rape the victim, a 200-level student of Economics and Political Education at the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti.
The prosecutor, Dolapo Oyewole, said, “The offence is contrary to sections 357 and 213 (b) of the Criminal Code Law, Cap. C16 Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.”
During the trial, the prosecutor called two witnesses, while exhibits tendered included the statement of the defendant, a bed sheet stained with blood, charms, among others; the defendant spoke through his counsel, Chris Omokhafe, and called no witness.
In another development, the Ado Ekiti division of the Ekiti State High Court acquitted and discharged a 21-year-old man, Thomas Malachy, of the offence of armed robbery, three years after he was arraigned.
Malachy was alleged to have committed the offence at Iworoko Ekiti, where he was accused of using a locally-made gun to rob one Kolawole Damilola of her phones, laptops and a sum of N57,000, contrary to Section 1(2) (a) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, Cap. R11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The prosecutor, H.A. Adeyemi, called five witnesses and tendered phones, shoes, statements of the defendant and the victim, among others, as exhibits.
But the defendant, who spoke through his counsel, Michael Afolayan, argued that the allegation was mere suspicion.
In his judgment, the Acting Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Justice John Adeyeye, said, “The prosecution, having failed to link the defendant to the charge with credible, cogent, and convincing evidence, has not proved all the ingredients of the offence beyond reasonable doubt. The defendant is entitled to be discharged and acquitted. I acquit and discharge him accordingly.”
